Battery pack including sensing board and power storage system employing the same

ABSTRACT

A battery pack includes a battery unit including rechargeable batteries, a sensing board, the sensing board configured to process status information detected from the batteries, and a harness wire, the harness wire connecting the batteries and the sensing board so that the status information can be transmitted to the sensing board.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation application based on pending application Ser. No.12/805,524 filed Aug. 4, 2010, the entire contents of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments relate to a battery pack including a sensing board and apower storage system employing the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

A battery pack is an electrical storage device fabricated by connectinga plurality of batteries, and may be used as a storage device of a powerstorage system, which stores power in each of the batteries and providesthe power if necessary, for example.

SUMMARY

It is a feature of an embodiment to provide a battery pack including asensing board, and a power storage system including the same.

It is another feature of an embodiment to provide an electrical storagedevice that includes a battery management system (BMS) for monitoringand controlling the status, e.g., of voltage, current, temperature, andthe like, for smooth operation of the battery packs.

At least one of the above and other features and advantages may berealized by providing a battery pack including a battery unit includingrechargeable batteries, a sensing board, the sensing board configured toprocess status information detected from the batteries, and a harnesswire, the harness wire connecting the batteries and the sensing boardfor transmitting the status information to the sensing board.

The battery pack may have integrated therein the battery unit, thesensing board, and the harness wire.

The sensing board may be configured to perform analog/digital conversionof the status information and transmit the converted digital signal to acontrol unit.

The sensing board may be configured to process status information thatincludes information regarding one or more of voltage, current, andtemperature of the battery pack.

The sensing board may be configured to process status information thatincludes information regarding one or more of voltage, current, andtemperature of respective batteries of the battery pack.

The batteries may include nickel-cadmium batteries, lead acid batteries,nickel metal hydride batteries, lithium ion batteries, lithium polymerbatteries, or a combination thereof.

At least one of the above and other features and advantages may also berealized by providing a power storage system including a battery pack,the battery pack including a battery unit including rechargeablebatteries, a sensing board configured to process status informationdetected from the batteries, and a harness wire, the harness wireconnecting the batteries and the sensing board for transmitting thestatus information to the sensing board, a battery management system(BMS) for controlling the status of the battery pack, and a powermanagement system (PMS) for controlling overall power supply among thebattery pack and peripheral devices.

The battery pack may have integrated therein the battery unit, thesensing board, and the harness wire.

The sensing board may be configured to perform analog/digital conversionof the status information and transmit the converted digital signal tothe BMS.

The BMS may be configured to transmit the status information to the PMS,and to control charging and discharging of the battery unit.

The sensing board may be configured to process status information thatincludes information regarding one or more of voltage, current, andtemperature of the battery pack.

The sensing board may be configured to process status information thatincludes information regarding one or more of voltage, current, andtemperature of respective batteries of the battery pack.

The batteries may include nickel-cadmium batteries, lead acid batteries,nickel metal hydride batteries, lithium ion batteries, lithium polymerbatteries, or a combination thereof.

The peripheral devices may include a power generating system forgenerating power, and the PMS may be configured to receive power fromthe power generating system.

The power generating system may includes one or more of a photovoltaicsystem, a wind power generating system, and a tidal power generatingsystem.

The peripheral devices may include a commercial grid, and the PMS may beconfigured to receive commercial power from the commercial grid.

The commercial grid may include power plants, substations, and powerlines.

The peripheral devices may include a load for consuming power providedby the PMS, and the PMS may be configured to provide power to the load.

The load may include a household or a commercial facility.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages will become more apparent tothose of skill in the art by describing in detail example embodimentswith reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of an example structure in which a powerstorage system according to an embodiment and peripheral devices areconnected to one another;

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of an example power storage system shown inFIG. 1 according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of a modified example of the power storagesystem shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0004479, filed on Jan. 18, 2010,in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and entitled: “Battery PackIncluding Sensing Board and Power Storage System Employing the Same,” isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Example embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings; however, they may be embodied indifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

In the drawing figures, the dimensions of layers and regions may beexaggerated for clarity of illustration. Like reference numerals referto like elements throughout.

As used herein, the expression “or” is not an “exclusive or” unless itis used in conjunction with the term “either.” For example, theexpression “A, B, or C” includes A alone; B alone; C alone; both A and Btogether; both A and C together; both B and C together; and all three ofA, B, and C together, whereas the expression “either A, B, or C” meansone of A alone, B alone, and C alone, and does not mean any of both Aand B together; both A and C together; both B and C together; and allthree of A, B, and C together.

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of an example structure in which a powerstorage system 100 employing a battery pack 130 according to anembodiment and peripheral devices are connected to one another.

In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the power storage system 100includes a power management system (PMS) 110, a battery managementsystem (BMS) 120, and the battery pack 130.

The power storage system 100 may be connected to one or more of a powergenerating system 160, a commercial grid 140, and a load 150. The powergenerating system 160 may be, e.g., a system that generates power thatfluctuates according to external conditions, such as a photovoltaicsystem, a wind power generating system, or a tidal power generatingsystem, and may also include any of various renewable power generatingsystems such as a solar power generating system, a geothermal powergenerating system, and the like. A solar battery, which generateselectric energy by using sunlight, may be easily installed at ahousehold or a commercial facility such as a store, shopping center,factory, etc., and thus may be suitably applied to a power storagesystem.

In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the PMS 110 controls overallpower supply. For example, the PMS 110 may receive power generated bythe power generating system 160 and transmit the power to the commercialgrid 140, store the power in the battery pack 130, or provide the powerto the load 150. Furthermore, the PMS 110 may transmit power stored inthe battery pack 130 to the commercial grid 140, may provide powerstored in the battery pack 130 to the load 150, and may store powerprovided by the commercial grid 140 in the battery pack 130.Furthermore, in the case of abnormal situations, e.g., powerinterruption in the commercial grid 140, the PMS 110 may function as anuninterruptible power supply (UPS) and provide power to the load 150.Even when the commercial grid 140 operates normally, the PMS 110 mayprovide power, either generated by the power generating system 160 orstored in the battery pack 130, to the load 150.

In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the PMS 110 performs powerconversion for storing generated power in the battery pack 130, forproviding generated power to the commercial grid 140 or the load 150,for storing power from the commercial grid 140 in the battery pack 130,and for providing power stored in the battery pack 130 to the commercialgrid 140 or the load 150. For example, the PMS 110 may convert DCvoltage from the battery pack 130 to AC voltage when the PMS 110provides power to the load 150. Furthermore, the PMS 110 may monitor thestatus (e.g., voltage, current, and/or temperature, described below) ofthe battery pack 130, the commercial grid 140, and the load 150, and maydistribute power generated by the power generating system 160. The PMS110 may distribute power provided by the commercial grid 140, and maydistribute power stored in the battery pack 130.

Before describing the BMS 120 and the battery pack 130, peripheraldevices connected to the power storage system 100 will be described. Theperipheral devices may include, e.g., the power generating system 160that generates power, the commercial grid 140, and/or the load 150 thatconsumes power.

The power generating system 160 may generate electric energy and outputthe generated electric energy to the PMS 110.

The commercial grid 140 may include power plants, substations, and powerlines. In an example implementation, during normal operations thecommercial grid 140 provides power to the battery pack 130 and/or theload 150, and receives power from the power generating system 160 and/orthe battery pack 130. When the commercial grid 140 operates abnormally,e.g., due to power interruption or an abnormal operation due to electricwork, power provided by the commercial grid 140 to the battery pack 130or the load 150 is ceased. Power provided to the commercial grid 140 bythe power generating system 160 or the battery pack 130 may also cease.

In an example implementation, the load 150 consumes power generated bythe power generating system 160, power stored in the battery pack 130,or power provided by the commercial grid 140. The load may be, or mayinclude, e.g., a household, a factory, etc.

Detailed descriptions of the BMS 120 and the battery pack 130 of thepower storage system 100 will be given below with reference to FIG. 2,which illustrates a diagram of an example power storage system shown inFIG. 1 according to an embodiment.

In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the BMS 120 is connected tothe battery pack 130 and controls charging and discharging of thebattery pack 130 under the control of the PMS 110. Power discharged fromthe battery pack 130 and power charged to the battery pack 130 aretransmitted via the BMS 120. The BMS 120 may perform overchargingprotection, overdischarging protection, overcurrent protection, overheatprotection, cell balancing, and the like to protect the battery pack130. The BMS 120 may monitor the remaining power and lifespan of thebattery pack 130 by receiving one or more inputs of status informationregarding, e.g., the voltage, current, and temperature, of a batteryunit 131 from a harness wire 133 and a sensing board 132 that aredescribed below.

In the example described above, the BMS 120 transmits status informationof the battery unit 131 to the PMS 110, and controls charging ordischarging of the battery pack 130 under the control of the PMS 110.Furthermore, the battery pack 130 stores power provided under thecontrol of the PMS 110.

The provided power may be power converted from power generated by thepower generating system 160 or power converted from power provided bythe commercial grid 140. Power stored in the battery pack 130 may beprovided to the commercial grid 140 or the load 150 under the control ofthe PMS 110.

In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the battery pack 130 includesthe battery unit 131, which includes a plurality of batteries 131 a thatmay be rechargeable, the harness wires 133, which are lines fortransmitting information signals regarding the status of the batteryunit 131, and the sensing boards 132, which transmit signals receivedvia the harness wires 133 to the BMS 120. A single battery pack 130 maybe used, or, to embody a larger capacity, a plurality of the batterypacks 130 may be connected in series or in parallel as shown in FIG. 2.

The batteries 131 a may be, e.g., nickel-cadmium (Ni—Cd) batteries, leadacid batteries, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, lithium ionbatteries, lithium polymer batteries, etc., or a combination thereof.

In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the harness wires 133 formsignal transmission lines for transmitting information signals regardingthe statuses of one or more battery packs, and/or each of the batteries131 a of the battery unit 131, to the sensing boards 132. The statusesmay be, e.g., voltages, currents, and temperatures, etc. When theinformation signals are provided by detectors such as sensors (notshown) at first ends of the harness wires 133, the information signalsare transmitted to the sensing boards 132 via the harness wires 133 asanalog signals. The sensors may be, e.g., terminals that are disposed atthe first ends of the harness wires 133 and are connected to electrodesof each of the batteries 131 a to detect currents. The sensors may be,e.g., thermistors that are disposed at the first ends of the harnesswires 133 to detect temperatures. Any of various types of sensors may beconnected to the harness wires 133 to detect desired analog values.Analog signals input via the harness wires 133 are converted to digitalsignals (analog/digital conversion) by the sensing boards 132, and theconverted digital signals are transmitted, e.g., to a superordinatecontrol unit such as BMS 120, to be used as data for controlling thebattery pack 130.

As described above, a battery pack 130 may have harness wires 133 fortransmitting signals from the battery pack 130 and/or each of batteries131 a to sensing boards 132, in which the lengths of the harness wires133 are reduced. This may eliminate signal errors in analog signalsresulting from an increase of electrical resistance in longer wires, andmay minimize costs associated with increasing capacity of the batterypack 130. Since both the battery unit 131 and the sensing boards 132,which are connected by the harness wires 133, may be integrated in thebattery pack 130, the lengths of the harness wire 133 may be madesignificantly shorter than the lengths of harness wires in a comparativestructure wherein sensing boards are installed within the BMS.

In a general comparative structure (not shown), each of the batterypacks includes a harness wire as a line for transmitting informationsignals regarding the status of each of the batteries, and a sensingboard interposed between the BMS and the harness wires to convert analogsignals transmitted from each of the batteries via the harness wiresinto digital signals and to transmit the digital signals to the BMS.However, since the sensing board is disposed outside of the batterypack, significant lengths of harness wires are required for connectingeach of the batteries to the sensing board. When the length of a harnesswire is increased, electrical resistance also increases. Thus,information signals provided by sensors may lose accuracy or becompletely erroneous. As a result, it may be difficult for the BMS toexert precise control. Furthermore, where the sensing board is disposedoutside the battery pack and integrated in the BMS, it is necessary toincrease the number of both sensing boards and BMS's when the batterycapacity is increased, increasing costs.

In contrast, where the sensing boards 132 are in the battery pack 130 asdescribed above, the storage capacity of the power storage system 100may be increased easily. For example, it is assumed that the storagecapacity of a system 100 including seven battery packs as shown in FIG.2 is increased by increasing the number of battery packs to fourteen ina system 100′ shown in FIG. 3. In a comparative case, where a sensingboard is integrated in a BMS, it is necessary to increase the number ofsensing boards as well as increasing the number of battery packs, andthus it is also necessary to add BMS's in which the sensing boards areintegrated. Therefore, both the number of sensing boards and the numberof BMS's increase at the same time, and thus the overall costsignificantly increases. However, where the sensing boards 132 areintegrated in the battery packs 130 as in the present embodiment, thenumber of sensing boards 132 may increase as the number of battery packs130 increases, but it is not necessary to increase the number of the BMS120. Therefore, it may be less expensive to increase the storagecapacity of the power storage system 100 according to an embodiment thanin the case of the comparative structure.

As described above, embodiments may provide a battery pack in which aplurality of batteries are connected to one another, and a power storagedevice employing the same. The battery pack according to an embodimentmay have a sensing board integrated in the battery pack, such thatsignals may be transmitted to the BMS more precisely due to reducedelectrical resistance resulting from a significant reduction of thelength of the harness wire. Furthermore, it may be less expensive toincrease storage capacity of the power storage system.

Example embodiments have been disclosed herein, and although specificterms are employed, they are used and are to be interpreted in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation.Accordingly, it will be understood by those of skill in the art thatvarious changes in form and details may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An energy storage system, comprising: at leastone battery pack, the at least one battery pack including: a batteryunit including a plurality of rechargeable batteries, and a sensingboard to process status information detected from the plurality ofrechargeable batteries, the sensing board coupled to the battery unit;and a harness wire, connected between the battery unit and the sensingboard, for transmitting the status information; and a battery managementsystem (BMS), located outside of the at least one battery pack, forreceiving the status information from the sensing board to control theat least one battery pack, wherein the harness wire is connected betweenthe rechargeable batteries in the battery unit and the sensing board andwherein the harness wire is not directly connected to the sensing boardof another battery pack and is located entirely within the at least onebattery pack.
 2. The energy storage system as claimed in claim 1,wherein the battery pack has integrated therein the plurality ofrechargeable batteries, the sensing board, and the harness wire.
 3. Theenergy storage system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the sensing boardis to perform analog/digital conversion of the status information togenerate a converted digital signal, and transmit the converted digitalsignal to a control unit.
 4. The energy storage system as claimed inclaim 2, wherein the sensing board is to process status information thatincludes information regarding one or more of voltage, current, ortemperature of the battery pack.
 5. The energy storage system as claimedin claim 4, wherein the sensing board is to process status informationthat includes information regarding one or more of voltage, current, ortemperature of respective rechargeable batteries of the battery pack. 6.The energy storage system as claimed in claim 1, wherein therechargeable batteries include at least one of nickel-cadmium batteries,lead acid batteries, nickel metal hydride batteries, lithium ionbatteries, lithium polymer batteries, or a combination thereof.
 7. Theenergy storage system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a powermanagement system (PMS) to control overall power supply among thebattery pack and peripheral devices.
 8. The energy storage system asclaimed in claim 7, wherein the battery pack has integrated therein theplurality of rechargeable batteries, the sensing board, and the harnesswire.
 9. The energy storage system as claimed in claim 8, wherein thesensing board is to perform analog/digital conversion of the statusinformation to generate a converted digital signal, and transmit theconverted digital signal to the BMS.
 10. The energy storage system asclaimed in claim 9, wherein the BMS is to transmit the statusinformation to the PMS, and to control charging and discharging of theplurality of rechargeable batteries.
 11. The energy storage system asclaimed in claim 8, wherein the sensing board is to process statusinformation that includes information regarding one or more of voltage,current, or temperature of the battery pack.
 12. The energy storagesystem as claimed in claim 11, wherein the sensing board is to processstatus information that includes information regarding one or more ofvoltage, current, or temperature of respective rechargeable batteries ofthe battery pack.
 13. The energy storage system as claimed in claim 7,wherein the rechargeable batteries include at least one ofnickel-cadmium batteries, lead acid batteries, nickel metal hydridebatteries, lithium ion batteries, lithium polymer batteries, or acombination thereof.
 14. The energy storage system as claimed in claim7, wherein: the peripheral devices include a power generating system togenerate power, and the PMS is to receive power from the powergenerating system.
 15. The energy storage system as claimed in claim 14,wherein the power generating system includes one or more of aphotovoltaic system, a wind power generating system, or a tidal powergenerating system.
 16. The energy storage system as claimed in claim 14,wherein: the peripheral devices include a commercial grid, and the PMSis to receive commercial power from the commercial grid.
 17. The energystorage system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the commercial gridincludes power plants, substations, and power lines.
 18. The energystorage system as claimed in claim 16, wherein: the peripheral devicesinclude a load for consuming power provided by the PMS, and the PMS isto provide power to the load.
 19. The energy storage system as claimedin claim 18, wherein the load includes a household or a commercialfacility.